Unfolding hoister of a sunshade

ABSTRACT

An unfolding hoister of a sunshade has a steel rope connected to a movable support member of the sunshade; the spreader rods of the sunshade are pivoted to the movable support member. The steel rope is passed over a pulley pivoted to the shank, and is connected to a turning handle, which is pivoted to the lower part of the shank, from the other end with the intermediate portion passed through a longitudinal hole of the shank. Thus, the sunshade can be spread when the movable support member is moved up along the shank by means of turning the turning handle. The steel rope is substantially hidden in the shank when the sunshade is unfolded, so it is not possible for people to accidentally touch same to get dirtied by the grease.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an unfolding hoister of a sunshade, and particularly to one, of which the rope is almost all hidden in the shank such that the rope is kept from dirt, and people won't touch same accidentally to be dirtied by the lubricating grease on the rope.

[0002] Stationary sunshades are usually used in outdoor coffee shops or on the beach to shade people from direct sum light. And, some stationary sunshades are provided with unfolding hoisters such that the sunshades can be unfolded easily by means of the hoisters.

[0003] Referring to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, a conventional sunshade 4 with an unfolding hoister has a movable support member 48 movably connected to a shank 42; spreader rods 49 are pivoted to the movable support member 48 from inner ends, and pivoted to the ribs (not numbered) from outer ends.

[0004] The shank 42 is connected to a locating member 43 from a lower end, and a pulley 47 of the hoister from an upper end portion.

[0005] The locating member 43 is connected to an upper end of a stationary shank support 41 from a lower end portion; a turning handle 44 is passed through, and pivoted on, the locating member 43, and coupled to a reel 45 from other end. A steel rope 46 is wound around the reel 45 from a lower end portion, and passed over the pulley 47, and is connected to the movable support member 48 from an upper end.

[0006] Thus, the sunshade can be unfolded by means of turning the turning handle 44 to lift the movable support member 48.

[0007] However, the unfolding hoister is found to have drawbacks as follows:

[0008] 1. Children might pull the steel rope out from the reel for fun, and the part of the rope pulled out is likely to trip up passersby.

[0009] 2. The steel rope usually has grease applied on it to make the hoister work smoothly. Consequently, people will be dirtied when accidentally touching the rope.

[0010] 3. The steel rope is likely to be dirtied because it is not well protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a sunshade unfolding hoister, of which the rope is almost all hidden in the sunshade to overcome the disadvantages as described in the Background.

[0012] The unfolding hoister of a sunshade of the present invention includes a hollow locating member, a turning handle, a pulley and a steel rope.

[0013] The hollow locating member is connected to a shank and a stationary support from the upper end and the lower end respectively.

[0014] The pulley is received in, and pivoted to, a slot of the shank. The turning handle is pivoted to the locating member. The rope is connected to the movable support member, to which the spreader rods are pivoted from one end, and wound around the turning handle from the other end with the intermediate portion passed over the pulley, and passed through a longitudinal central hole of the shank.

[0015] Because the steel rope is passed through the central hole of the shank, it is substantially hidden in the shank when the turning handle is turned to lift the movable support member to unfold the sunshade. Therefore, people won't touch the steel rope accidentally to get dirtied by the grease on the steel rope. And, without the rope being exposed, the sunshade would look more pleasant than the conventional one as described in the Background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0017]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an unfolding hoister of a sunshade according to the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 2 is a view of the unfolding hoister in FIG. 1 being fitted to the shank of a sunshade.

[0019]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the unfolding hoister and the shank of FIG. 2 with the hoister in the unfolding position.

[0020]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the unfolding hoister and the shank of FIG. 2 with the hoister in the folding position.

[0021]FIG. 5 is a front view of the conventional unfolding hoister of a sunshade in the Background.

[0022]FIG. 6 is a side view of the conventional unfolding hoister of a sunshade in FIG. 5.

[0023]FIG. 7 is a side view of a sunshade with the conventional unfolding hoister in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] Referring to FIG. 1, a sunshade unfolding hoister 1 of the present invention includes a locating member 11, a turning handle 12, a steel rope 14 and a pulley 15.

[0025] The locating member 11 is preferably made of wood or bamboo. The locating member 11 has threaded portions 111 and 112 (FIG. 3) on an inner side and pivotal holes 113.

[0026] A stationary support 3 of the sunshade is connected to the locating member 11 with an upper threaded end portion 31 being screwed into the threaded portion 112 of the locating member 11. A shank 2 of the sunshade is connected to the locating member 11 with a lower threaded end portion 21 being screwed into the threaded portion 111; the shank 2 has a longitudinal central hole 22, a side slot 23 communicating with the central hole 22, and a pivotal hole 232 across the slot 23. The stationary support 3 and the shank 2 are also preferably made of wood or bamboo.

[0027] The turning handle 12 is pivoted to the locating member 11 with a shaft 13 being passed through the pivotal holes 113 of the locating member 11; a nut 131 is connected to an outer end of the shaft 13 to prevent the turning handle 12 from falling off the locating member 11. The shaft 13 further has a connecting hole 132.

[0028] The pulley 15 is fitted into the slot 23 of the shank 2 with a pivotal rod 231 being passed through both the pivotal hole 232 and the pulley 15.

[0029] The steel rope 14 is connected to the connecting hole 132 of the shaft 13 from a lower end, and wound around the shaft 13 from a lower end portion. The steel rope 14 further passes through an upper portion of the locating member 11, and passes into the central hole 22 of the shank 2 to pass over the pulley 15.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 3, the steel rope 14 is connected to a movable support member 24 connected to the shank 2 from other end. The movable support member 24 has spreader rods 25 pivoted thereto, and the spreader rods 25 are pivoted to the ribs (not shown) of the sunshade.

[0031] When the turning handle 12 is turned in an unfolding direction, the steel rope 14 will be further wound around the shaft 13 to lift the movable support member 24; thus, the sunshade is unfolded.

[0032] To fold the sunshade, referring to FIG. 4, the turning handle 12 is turned in the opposite direction for permitting the movable support member 24 and the spreader rods 25 to move down due to gravity.

[0033] From the above description, the unfolding hoister of a sunshade of the present invention can be known to have desirable features as follows:

[0034] 1. Most of the steel rope is protected by the shank, and when the sunshade is unfolded, the exposed part of steel rope is relatively high, and can't be reached by children.

[0035] 2. People won't get dirtied by the grease on the steel rope because almost all of the rope is hidden.

[0036] 3. The sunshade looks more pleasant when it is unfolded than the conventional one because there is nearly no steel rope exposed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An unfolding hoister of a sunshade, comprising a hollow locating member connected to a lower end of a shank of said sunshade; a turning handle pivoted to said locating member with a shaft being passed through said locating member; a pulley pivotally fitted in a slot on an upper portion of said shank; said slot being in open communication with a longitudinal central hole of said shank; a steel rope passed over said pulley to connect a movable support member of spreader rods of said sunshade from an upper end; said steel rope being passed down through said longitudinal central hole of said shank to connect said shaft from a lower end for permitting said movable support member associated with said spreader rods to move upwards to unfold said sunshade when said turning handle is turned in an unfolding direction to wind said steel rope around said shaft; said steel rope being substantially hidden in said shank when said movable support member is lifted to unfold said sunshade. 